With Arms Wide Open
by VegasGoddess
Summary: GSR He wasn't ready. He didn't think he would ever be ready.


**Title:** With Arms Wide Open

**Summary: **He wasn't ready. He didn't think he would ever be ready.

**Spoilers:** Nesting Dolls, sorta. Though if you don't know about Sara's childhood you're extremely out of the loop.

**Disclaimer: **Ahhh, a girl can dream. Alas, I do not own the geeks. Nor do I own Creed or their music.

**Author's Note: **Written back in April 2007. You must hate me for having all of these stories buried on my computer and never sharing them! I'm a failure; I know. Forgive me? This is fluffy and just a smidgen angsty, but not really. I hope you like it. Please read and review!

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**With Arms Wide Open**

Grissom stared at the disc in front of him, not quite believing that he'd spent money on it, and on this band he'd never heard of.

_Creed. What kind of name is that for a band? It sounds like a disease, or some kind of foreign bug…_ A small smile crept its way onto his face at the thought of bugs. There was comfort in bugs. Bugs always did the same thing. They were born, did their required job for their lifetime and then they died, leaving a space for the next bug to take his place. Simple, easy, always the same.

Women weren't like that. Men weren't like that. Children were _definitely_ not like that. Hell, human _life_ wasn't like that. And that's what scared him the most. The unpredictability of a life, of a family, of love.

Sighing, he stood and made his way over to his state-of-the-art sound system he rarely used. He ripped open the packaging of _Human Clay_, and slid the disc out. He looked at it, and then put it into the stereo. Skipping ahead to number eight, he let Scott Stapp's voice fill the empty townhouse with one of his most heartbreaking yet inspiring songs.

_"Well I just heard the news today, It seems my life is going to change, I closed my eyes, begin to pray, Then tears of joy stream down my face, With arms wide open, Under the sunlight, Welcome to this place, __I'll show you everything, With arms wide open, With arms wide open,_

_Well I don't know if I'm ready, To be the man I have to be, I'll take a breath, take her by my side, We stand in awe; we've created life, With arms wide open, Under the sunlight, Welcome to this place, I'll show you everything, With arms wide open,_

_Now everything has changed, I'll show you love, I'll show you everything, With arms wide open, With arms wide open, I'll show you everything, yeah, with arms wide open... wide open,_

_If I had just one wish, Only one demand, I hope he's not like me, I hope he understands, That he can take this life, And hold it by the hand, And he can greet the world, With arms wide open… __with arms wide open, under the sunlight, welcome to this place, I'll show you everything, with arms wide open,_

_Now everything has changed, I'll show you love, I'll show you everything, with arms wide open, with arms wide open, I'll show you everything, oh yeah, with arms wide open... wide open..."_

Grissom felt the tears build in his eyes, and did nothing to hold them back. He wasn't ready for this; he had no idea how to do this; he was going to fail… a life wasted because _he_ didn't know what to do...

He was falling into despair when the front door opened, and Sara walked in, looking beautiful and alert, as always. She quickly noticed something was wrong, and headed directly to the living room.

"Grissom?" she asked quietly. "Grissom? What's wrong?" It was then she heard the music, and looked up towards the stereo. She looked down at the case in his hands and then back to the stereo. Creed's _Higher_ was playing, the song she knew came after _With_ _Arms Wide Open._

"Grissom, what's wrong? Talk to me," she said, coming around in front of him and sitting on the coffee table.

He raised his head and looked at her through teary eyes. "I'm not ready for this, Sara," he whispered sadly. "I – I don't know…"

Sara took the case from his hands and pulled out the little booklet that was in the front. She flipped through it, looking for the song that had reduced Grissom to tears. She found it, and silently read the lyrics while she put a reassuring hand on his knee.

It took her only about a minute and a half, but when she was done, she set the small book down on the table beside her with deliberate precision before launching herself at him, encasing him in a fierce hug. He was startled at first, but then his arms came up and he held her to him, trying to keep his tears at bay. Her arms were like a vice around him, squeezing him until he could hardly breathe.

"Sara?" he asked tentatively. "Sara?"

She pulled away from him, wiping at her eyes that were now just as teary and cloudy as his. She sat on his lap, and stared him, unblinking.

Grissom stared back, a little unnerved by her direct gaze, but not breaking the contact. "Sara honey…?"

"Gil Grissom."

He blinked then, surprised by the use of his first name. She only used it when they were talking about something important to her. "Yes?"

"Why would you ever think this?" she whispered.

"Think what?"

She leaned back, and picked up the booklet that contained the lyrics and shoved it under his nose. "This."

He looked at her, not knowing what she wanted him to say.

"Look at the lyrics." He did. "Do you understand them?" He nodded. "Then why would you ever, _ever_ think that you weren't capable of this?"

He shook his head a little bit, as if to dislodge something from his brain. When he looked back up at her, she saw the pain and uncertainty that lay in his heart. "Because I've never _done_ something like this before and I have no idea how to handle it."

"And you think _I_ know what to do?"

"You're a woman, Sara, it just comes naturally to you… you know how –"

"Grissom?" she cut him off. "Do you not remember how my childhood went?"

He grimaced slightly, berating himself for making her have to bring it up. "I remember," he said softly.

"Then what makes you think I can do this? I never _planned_ to have children! I never _wanted_ children! I'm no good with them."

"You don't want children?" he asked, perplexed at their present situation.

"I didn't. But then I met someone who changed my mind. I met you, and I told myself, if I was ever going to have kids, they would be yours, and _only_ yours."

"I don't know what to say," he said.

By this time Sara had gotten up off his lap and was pacing the living room. He stood as well, and caught her arm, pulling her into him. She cried softly on his shoulder, letting her emotions take over.

She calmed down, and wrapped her arms around his waist before she looked up into his concerned blue eyes. "Gil Grissom, I love you. I really, really do."

"I love you too."

"And when the time comes," Sara continued, "you and I will welcome this new life into _our_ lives with wide open arms." She knew the song off by heart – she'd known it for years – and she smiled slightly. "You can show him the world, honey. All the bugs in the world, all the things that they do, all their jobs…"

An errant tear slid down her face and he immediately wiped it away, listening to her soothing words.

"You're ready for this, as ready as you'll ever be."

"Are you sure?"

"No, no I'm not sure. But we're scientists, right? How hard can it be?"

Grissom laughed and kissed her forehead. "We'll just have to ask Catherine for advice on how to raise children."

"Over my dead body," Sara scoffed, taking his hand in hers. "Every parent is different, Grissom. We'll make our own rules and our own lives, without the help of outsiders."

"Okay, okay.. It is still a long way from now…"

"I know it's a long way from now, still about six months, but they're going to go by faster than we ever imagined."

_**Six months later…**_

Sara sat in the hospital room, Grissom by her side. Their son, little Adrian Johnathon Grissom, had been taken away for cleaning, and Sara's sweaty hand was encased in Grissom's, being held tightly.

_With Arms Wide Open _drifted into her head, and she squeezed Grissom's hand to get his attention. "Yes honey?"

"I told you we would let him into our lives with arms wide open."

"That you did, Sara, that you did," he answered, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

The nurse brought their newly-cleaned son back in, and handed him to Grissom, who hadn't had a chance to hold him yet. Sara watched as he cradled the child, and felt tears in her eyes.

"I told you you'd be an excellent father, Grissom. Don't you see that?"

"I see it now Sara, I do, and I believe you."

She smiled at him before saying, "Gil, if he grows up to be like you, he'll be the most gentle, patient and loving man the world has ever seen. After you, of course. I'll be so proud of him."

"Me too."

Sara smiled again. She knew she'd have two men in her life to be proud of. And they were both with her, in this room, sharing her life with her at the same time.

She was extremely lucky.

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**-End-**


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